Latest Nova Launcher beta arrives w/ icon normalization, more features

In case you’re uninitiated in third party launchers (which you shouldn’t be, considering Cam’s recent deep dive), Nova Launcher is definitely one of the most popular. The latest version of Nova Launcher beta is now available, and of the many new features that this version brings, the most notable is a new tweak allowing the normalization of icon sizes…

I don’t really see the appeal in this — I’m a purist Google Now Launcher fan, myself — but I’m definitely not against giving Android users as many customization options as they can handle. This one feature in particular provides the ability to “normalize” the many differently sized icons on many an Android home screen, making things look just a bit more uniform.

Here’s what icon normalization looks like in action:

But on top of the ability to normalize icon size, this update also packs a Marshmallow grayscale style search bar, runtime permissions on Marshmallow, and other “optimizations and fixes” which are assumably aimed at the upcoming release of Android 6.0. In case you’re curious, here’s the full change log:

• Normalize Icon Size
• Marshmallow, and Marshmallow grayscale style search bar
• Runtime permissions on Marshmallow
• Optimizations and bug fixes
• Fix FC on Android 4.x

To join the Nova Launcher beta, you need to join the Nova Launcher Beta G+ Community, opt-in for Nova Launcher on the Play Store, opt-in for TeslaUnread, and then wait for a beta. If you’re already part of the beta program, all you have to do is head over to an APK repository like APK Mirror to grab the latest version and install it manually.